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Chapter 44 - Unusual Ally
Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul A man with a thin, well trimmed beard poured over a map of Creghurst City. He looked a little like a casual businessman, donning a short sleeve dress shirt and vest. A number of the buildings where shaded in or circled, and a large line zigzagging through the streets divided the map almost in half. He scratched his head and sighed, looking to a trio of others in the room. "We'll have to lay low for a bit." The others grumbled, but nobody voiced any complaints. "Next couple weeks are going to be hard as-." The door to the shack exploded open, startling everyone in the room. "Hey, Django!" A rough looking man in a green hoody strolled through the door, appearing happy as could be. "Sup, bro?" The first man stood up straight and adjusted his tie, looking like he was about to deliver some bad news. "Oran..." He addressed him slowly, while Oran flopped down in a chair and threw his feet up on the table. "Do I even want to know where you went?" He sighed. "We where suppose to lay low after braking Jasper out." "Well, yeah, I was..." He said with a simple shrug. "But I found that mage group from out of town, the one's who brought Jasper in." The others looked back at Django, not really sure what to say, while Oran continued. "Dumbass's where camping out near the cliffs. Kicked their ass and brought'em back here." It took a moment for that to process, but Django did a double take. "Teach them to fuck with us." The room was silent. Django just stared at Oran, not sure what to say. "Why...?" "Because they fucked with us." Oran seemed insulted that he even had to explain. "We could sell them off somewhere as slaves. Nobody hears from them again, and we get a nice bit of cash out of it." Django's eyes flashed, his mood changing instantly, when Oran added. "Or we kill'em and dump'em in the street, send a message or whatever. After all: you're the boss, bro." Though he still sounded annoyed, Django's attention was obviously somewhere else now. A small grin spread across his face, and he began looking over one of the other papers on the table. "How many are there?" A proud grin cut across Oran's face. "Got three. There was a forth but... I threw him off a cliff." He raised an arm and began tracing a finger towards the ground, making a slowly quieting whistle before smacking his hand on the table. "Boom, dead." "Describe them." Django asked quickly. "Age, gender, build...?" There was a moment before he said anything, but Oran seemed disappointed that Django wasn't as taken with his story as he was. "Some burly guy, early twenty's... Pair of girls; one was in her twenties, the other..." He paused a moment, obviously not as interested in the details. "I don't know... Younger. A runt, fit right in the palm of my hand." He said pointing to the palm of his hand. "Right..." Django looked up in concern. "Are... They alive still?" He waited a moment, but thought it best to clarify. "We can't sell then if they're dead." "Yeah, yeah, I'm not a moron." Oran waved him off, jumping to his feet. "Tied'em up and threw'em in one of the cells." Django began writing thing's down, and Oran turned to leave. "Anyways, I'm goin' to get drunk. Thank me later." "Wait a min-." Django stuttered. "Oh, fuck off bro." Oran called back in a happy tone. "I'm gettin' drunk!" The door slammed shut leaving the room in silence. Django began twirling a playing card between his fingers, the agitation showing plain on his face. "That brother of yours is a real nasty piece of work..." One of the others said, waiting until they where sure Oran was out of earshot. Django flicked the card at the table, where it stuck into the wood like a knife. "I know..." He said with a sigh. "Hyde!" He growled, turning to a man asleep on a couch on the far side of the cabin. He didn't respond, a black baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. "Dammit, get up!" Django grabbed a small journal off the table and flung it at the man, who grunted and sat up instantly when the book hit his stomach. He moaned and readjusted his hat, surveying the room with confusion. "What's up boss?" "Oran brought in some new merchandise." He grumbled, returning to his books. "Go take care of them; make sure they stay put. The last thing we need is a runaway while the Council is lurking around town." "Sure." Hyde said with a shrug. He picked up a small sword resting on the arm of the couch before heading to the door, but stopped short and said. "So... how do I do that?" "I don't know." Django shrugged, pinching the bridge of his nose in agitation. "Separate them or something. Threaten to cut a finger off if one of them misbehaves." "Got it." Hyde nodded, pushing through the door. "Cut off a finger." "No! That's-." The door slammed shut before Django could finish his sentence. The three others with him all exchanged a glance, not sure if they should add anything to the situation. After a moment, Django turned to them with a look of disbelief. "I'm surrounded by morons..." ---- Straining her ears, Amber franticly looked around the cell, trying to pinpoint which of the two entrances the footsteps where coming from. "Shelly wait." The scraping coming from Shelly's attempts to free her wrists wasn't that loud, but it was enough to be a distraction. "I think someone's coming." Shelly froze in place. "What?" The second she stopped, Amber knew. People, several people, all making their way down the same hallway they had been brought in from. Shelly heard it too, and quickly began trying to free Amber again. "Ok, I'm almost there. Just-." "No time." Amber interrupted, pushing her away. "Sit down, act like you're still tied up." Though hesitant at first, Shelly did as she asked, kneeling down in the corner of their cell and hiding her hands behind her back. Amber backed up too; hoping that if they stayed quiet there was a chance whoever it was would just pass right by. That hope vanished pretty much instantly however when around half a dozen men filled into the room, all fixated on the girl's cell. "Well... Look at that." One of them quipped. "You guys actually got something good for once." There was a nod and murmur of agreement from the others, who lined the two outside walls of their cell. Amber took a quickly look around as they leered at them, and recognising one of the faces from the camp. Apparently, he'd gone bragging while they where trying to escape. "What do you want?" She asked slowly. The others began to chuckle, while the man standing at the door began to speak. "What do we want?" He repeated in a mocking tone. "C'mon, you can figure it out. It's not often we get a pair of girls hanging around here. Thought I'd come by and make some new friends is all." Amber huffed as the bandits continued to laugh. "Please, just let us go." Shelly begged. "We won't tell anyone what happened. We'll never come back." Amber was surprised by her abruptness. Her expression was blank, impossible to tell if she was putting up a brave face or if some of her confidence had come back after getting untied. The bandits continued to laugh, and the one in front of them cast her a sideways glance. "Kid, are you even old enough to drink yet? Do you have any idea what kind of situation you're in?" Shelly slowly shook her head, nervously looking around at the others. "Well, assuming you don't die here..." He began. "We could ship you off to the islands, working for us as a mule to move the stuff we steal. Or to some rock quarry, where you'll work you till you drop dead. Or... We find some rich old prick looking for a slave. You know, clean the house, do the dishes, attend to other... Needs." He stopped a moment, allowing the others time for a good laugh. "Got to keep your options opened after all." Shelly sank back a bit. It was obvious the guy was just trying to intimidate them, but even knowing that wasn't much of a comfort. Amber remained glaring at him throughout the whole explanation; she'd never complain about Jaina's teasing ever again if this guy would just shut up. One of them noticed this as the laughed died down, and the grin he'd been wearing the whole time shrunk. "Oh... Got something to say, do ya?" He leaned forwards and rested his hands on the bars. "Well, out with is Ms. Scary-Eyes." Amber slowly rose to her feet, despite Shelly shaking her head to discourage her. "Scaring us isn't going to work." She took a step forward, despite every instinct she had telling her not too. But she had to keep their attention on her. If one of them noticed Shelly wasn't tied up anymore, their chances of escaping would go up in smoke. "I'm not afraid of you." "Aren't you, now?" The bandit grinned again. "Maybe you should be." Suddenly, one of the bandits grabbed at her through the bars. She tried to jump back out of the way, but he caught her by the hair and began pulling her closer. "This one's got some fight in her!" He yelled, turning to the one at the door. "What should we do about that?" "Hmm... Let me think." He said, sarcastically rubbing his chin. "What do you say we give her a tour of the place? Parade her around a bit?" Amber's blood ran cold. She pushed off the cell bars with her bare foot, but the man's grip on her hair kept her from pulling to hard. "Someone find a key. Maybe meeting the rest of the gang'll take the fight out of ya!" "Sorry Amber..." Shelly mumbled. She saw a blur in the corner of her eye, then a hand touched the bars. "Solid Script: Volts!" Sparks exploded out of every point the bars crossed, accompanied by a defining hissing noise. The bandit let go of Amber's hair and was launched across the room, while Amber herself sunk to her knees when her ears began to sting. Everyone backed away in surprise, shielding their faces from the showering sparks. The other person in Geno's cell rolled off the bench and landed on the floor, moaning in discomfort, while the bandit at the door flatted himself against the wall. After a moment, there was silence. Amber looked over her shoulder to see Shelly standing with a hand on the bars, nervously looking at the one she'd launched through the air. "Dammit..." The bandit growled. "One of them got loose." Shelly stepped away from the wall, and Amber backed up again as the men began to approach. "Someone get the key, we need to make sure these two stay put." "Hey, hey, hey..." The person in the next cell over finally got back to their feet, scratching the back of their head like they'd just woken from a deep sleep. "What's with all the noise?" Everyone, even the girls, all looked at him in disbelief, as a teenager with shaggy black hair tied back in a ponytail surveyed the room. "Leave them alone man, they're not bothering anybody." One of the bandits stepped up and grabbed him by the collar through the bars. "You got a problem buddy? Forget where you are or something?" The teenager's face lit up with a grin. "Oh, you wanna fight?" In a moment of confusion, the bandit loosened his grip, only for the youth to grab his wrist. "Alright then." He yanked the bandit closer, slamming his face into the cell door, and threw a punch up into his stomach. A wide grin split the youth's face, and even through the bars he lifted the bandit off the ground. The door slid up off it's hinges, and with one step the youth threw it back into the wall. A defining clatter of metal filled the room as the heavy cell door fell back to the ground, followed shortly be the unconscious bandit who'd been caught between it and the wall. "Wow..." The youth muttered, first looking at his handiwork, then at the now empty door-frame of his cell. "Didn't think of that before..." "Son of a..." The head bandit began, before waving for the others to pile on. "Come on, get this moron!" The youth's childlike grin returned as the others dashed at him. He leaped into the air to intercept the first, planting his hands on his shoulders and swinging a knee into his nose. That one went down instantly, and the youth rolled into the legs of the next. He too began to fall, until the youth sprung up and hit that one in the face with the top of his head, spinning him back the other way at breakneck speed. The third man seemed to have reservations, but wasn't able to stop his charge in time when the teenager dove straight at his stomach with an elbow tackle. He was launched into the last bandit, making barely a grunt before loosing consciousness. The last one stumbled back, catching himself on the door to Amber and Shelly's cell, and drew a knife from his belt. "What the hell are-." He couldn't even finish his sentence, the youth landed a sweeping kick to his side, making the man choke on his words. He threw another punch, but the bandit stepped out of the way. Well, he more fell than stepped. He collapsed to crumpled heap and the youth's fist collided with one of the bars. The moment the bandits had shifted their attention, Shelly had begun untying Amber again, and had just finished when the last one hit the floor. Amber gripped her sore wrists, looking at the dull purple shade of her fingertips and trying to work the feeling back into her hands. "Man..." The youth sighed in disappointment. "You guys really suck at fighting." Just as he turned to leave, Shelly jumped to her feet and rushed to the edge of the cell. "Wait. Please wait!" He stopped cold, looking like he'd completely forgot they where there. "Can you help us get out?" He looked at the cell door, then shrugged like what he'd just done was no big deal. "Yeah, sure." He took a step forward to examine their prison, looking at the lock. "But... I don't have a key." Shelly glanced back at Amber, who just shook her head in confusion. "Just... Lift it." Saying it didn't make it seem any less ridiculous, even if they'd seem him do it once already. "Like you did with-." "Wait." Amber interrupted. She got up, still cradling her wrists, and nodded to the pile of their belongings. "Open that chest, it'll help." Following her gesture, the teenager pulled a small chest out from the bottom of the pile. "You mean this?" Amber nodded. "What, the key in here or-?" The lid of the chest flew open, and a black, amorphous thing flew out. It squeezed between the bars and flew into Amber's belly, where Armeria took shape in a tight hug. "You're ok." Amber sunk down again, returning her familiar's concerned hug. "We're fine. But I need you to unlock the door." The youth jumped back in surprise. "What the hell is that!" Shelly shushed him as Armeria went about picking the lock. "She's a friend." The youth nodded, calming down a lot faster than his reaction would have led to assume. "M-my name is Shelly." She mumbled, helping Amber to her feet. "This is Amber, what's your name?" "I'm Jak." He said with a small shrug. The latch to their cell popped up, and with a gentle push the door swung open. Armeria flew back to Amber's side the moment she was done, and Shelly couldn't seem to get out of the cell fast enough. "You guy's breaking out too?" Jak asked simply. Amber and Shelly exchanged a glance; that should be fairly obvious, shouldn't it? "We where kidnapped..." Shelly explained, sounding almost ashamed of herself. "We where here working for the Council with our friends, but-." "Cool." Jak seemed content, even though he didn't hear the whole story. Or looked like he understood, for that matter. "I'll come too." Shelly's mouth hung open, not sure exactly what to think, and Jak moved onto the room's far entrance before she could say anything. "C'mon, this way." Amber looked back at the other door. "But we came in from that direction." "Yeah, but I smell open air down here." He pointed at his entrance, and waved for them to follow. "This is definitely the way out." He disappeared before she could make another argument. Amber looked to Shelly for confirmation, but didn't wait too long before she began digging her bag out of the pile. "Are we really going to follow him?" She asked, needing to hear it out loud. In truth, following this guy's nose sounded ridiculous. The only reason Amber was considering it at all was because she was so use to hearing the exact same thing from Axel. Thinking about him made her stomach knot. Was he ok? Or Zeke? They wouldn't be able to help if they got captured again, but she couldn't seem to put him out of her mind. "Amber?" Shelly snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned to find her kneeling on the floor over her open book-bag. A few of her clothes where strewn around her, and a discouraged look hung on her face. "My phone's gone." She stuck her hands back inside her bag and shuffled around a bit, but this didn't produce her phone. "I was going to call dad for help but... One of the must've taken it." The look returned. The sad, afraid look she'd had back when they where still tied up. Amber rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to do anything she could to be of comfort. "Don't worry about it." She gathered up Shelly's belongings and packed them back into her bag. "We'll find another way to get help, alright?" Shelly nodded slowly, patting her cheeks to get the expression off her face. "Ok." She stood up slowly, holding a folded item of clothing against her stomach. "Go catch up with Jak, I'll be right behind you." Amber nodded slightly, but only took a single step out of the doorway. She didn't want to become separated, and who knows who could come through the other door next. She peeked around the corner to see Jak waiting for them at the bottom of a staircase, then back again to check on Shelly. She was in the process of pulling a light blue pair of track pants up under her skirt. She remembered one of the bandits caught a peak at her underwear when they where thrown in the cell, and Amber guessed that was the reason for her change of wardrobe. She ducked back before Shelly spotted her, trying to give her some privacy, ever listening for any indication that more bandits where coming. She dug around her own bag a little, wondering if the bandits had put Shelly's phone in her bag by mistake. No such luck, but she did succeed in finding her glasses. A small thing, but it felt good to wear them again. Shelly soon joined her, and the two of them followed the hall down to where Jak was waiting for them. The next room was a lot bigger, made entirely of stone. The only windows where right up near the almost twenty-foot-high ceiling, and more boxes and crates littered the floor. There where a few more staircases, some going up, some down, and a flat bedded trawler bobbed in a stone canal at the far end of the room. Jak's head darted left and right like a dog with a scent, drawing him to a tunnel at the end of the canal. But once they got close enough, they realized a massive metal grate barred them from leaving. "Oh..." Jak mumbled. "Guess I'll have to lift this too..." "Seriously?" Shelly huffed. Sure, this was a way out; they could feel a breeze coming from the tunnel. But the cell doors back in the other room probably weren't half as heavy as this new obstacle. "How are you ever going to be able to do that?" "No problem." He waved her off. "Just watch." Amber spied a large metal chain wound around the side of the grate. "Don't bother..." She mumbled, inspecting a large combination lock hanging close to where they where standing. "I can't pic something like this." "We need another way." Shelly stated, looking up at the windows. "We need to be going up, not down." "Ok." Jak said with a small shrug. He began sniffing the air again, looking at one of the other staircases. "I guess you're in a hurry, huh?" He asked, beginning in a new direction. "You said you had some friends with you." The two of them nodded, no doubt thinking the same thing. Amber couldn't stop thinking about Axel, and even if she'd had her doubts about his usefulness, Rift would be a welcome companion right about now. She couldn't help feeling like she was forgetting someone though, someone obvious. Just as the answer was about to come to her, Shelly suddenly grabbed her arm. "Oh-no..." She stammered, skidding to a halt. "Amber, we forgot about Geno!" Amber turned back to the staircase behind them, when the sudden shriek of metal dragging on stone filled the room. She clutched at her ears and sunk to the ground, just as something soared over her head. Jak turned around just in time to see the metal crate before it crashed into him. He was swiped off his feet and crashed hard across the floor, laying motionless. The girls spun around to see a familiar face glairing at them from one of the staircases. Massive build, blond hair, well kept mustache. And a deep red Bloody Smile emblem emblazoned across his chest. "Hello girls..." Jasper cracked his knuckles and grinned an amused grin at them. "Ain't payback a bitch?" Next Chapter – Croc Category:Chapter Category:Chapters Category:Storyline Category:Paths of the Soul